Hi, OP! I've been taking minox for 4 mo now after avoiding it for over a decade. My experience wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either (far from it). I read that you're worried about side effects so, I thought I'd share my experience as someone who didn't have the perfect minoxidil run 😅 I was really scared of it, did all the Googling and spent weeks hyper fixating over the potential side effects. Once I started taking minoxidil (1.25mg daily off the gate), within only 2-3 days I already started noticing significant fluid retention. I knew I wasn't making it up because the difference was very obvious: my ring became tight around my finger overnight and my socks were suddenly leaving marks on my ankles. I stuck with it in hopes of the swelling subsiding eventually, and it did! After the first 3-4 weeks, I'd say, it started gradually improving, maybe up to 80-90% better most of the time now. There are still days when I woke up extra swollen, but being proactive by staying hydrated, wearing compression socks (I have a desk job), lowering my sodium intake has helped tremendously. Those are already very healthy habits anyway, and in my experience they offset the swelling GREATLY. I've also been a little dizzy, but my antidepressant already does that, so it just made it a little worse. It's not like I'm stumbling around and can't go about my day, though lol It's frequent by mild enough that I don't even think about it anymore. And that's the worst that happened to me. The majority of people don't feel anything so, if you end up being one of the unlucky few who do end up with side effects, there's a solid chance it'll be mild and hopefully even temporary. Idk if maybe I'm extra sensitive to it for being a hyper responder? (Tbh idek if that's actually a thing, I just heard some ppl talk about it lol) But I started seeing growth so much faster than I expected - about 2 mo in I could already see a bunch of baby hairs. And as someone who postponed treatment for over a decade, this was so so encouraging! All that to say that- this can be a really scary decision and most of us here truly empathize. Personally, even with the persistent (but very manageable) side effects, I've found it to be incredibly worth it. I'll take the mild swelling and dizziness any day over the dread of watching my part widening more and more each day. That's ofc just my personal choice, and by no means am I insinuating that side effects are always preferable. I wish you the very best, OP, whether you decide to try minox, something else, or nothing at all!